Hindsight
by MasterSakura
Summary: Toothless takes a shine to a young woman Hiccup meets in the woods. Hiccup befriends her, but he doesn't know his new friend is  keeping some secrets. Secrets that could change not just his life, but his father's too.
1. Chapter 1: Stranger

**Hello everyone! This is my second attempt at the same story, so names and appearances of OCs will be similar to my previous story of the same title. I scrapped it and started fresh, thus the similarities! I hope you all enjoy the new and improved edition of this fic! **

**Oh, and a quick side note, I imagine the weather in Berk to have four seasons like many of other people on this site. The weather ranges from dry and cool in the summer to freezing and snowy in the winter. Thats just how I see it.**

**DISCLAIMER: Dispite my constant wishes, I do not own Toothless or How to Train Your Dragon. :( Dreamworks does!**

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A month had passed since Hiccup had battled the Red Death and lost his leg, yet to Hiccup it seemed like only yesterday. He was not used to his new prosthetic leg, it caused him pain and discomfort every day. The only relief from the pain was when he was flying, soaring through the cool summer air on the back of Toothless. Only then did he forget his prosthesis and the pain it put him in.

Today, like many days started with a ride around the island with Toothless. For some reason however, the pain in his leg did not disappear as usual, so Hiccup had Toothless land in the old clearing where they bonded for the first time. This is where this story begins.

"I'm okay buddy, it just hurts a little," Hiccup reassured Toothless, attempting to ease the obvious concern on his dragon's face. He sat down on a nearby rock and removed the prosthesis to massage his leg. From what he could tell, he had just had it on too tight, a mistake he probably made in his excitement to go flying.

"See? Nothing to worry about, feels better already!" Hiccup said to Toothless as he massaged his leg. Toothless gave his leg a sniff just to be sure for himself. Hiccup was clumsy, especially with his prosthetic leg, Toothless wanted to double check Hiccup was alright. Satisfied that Hiccup's leg was okay as he said it was, Toothless wandered over to the pond to catch some fish.

When Hiccup was done massaging his leg he put the prosthesis back on. Once attached he flexed his leg, to make sure it was on okay, then got up and took a couple of steps. "I'm going to be right back bud, I'm just going to walk around the clearing to make sure it's not too tight again." Toothless gave him a small nod before returning to his fish breakfast.

Hiccup limped around the clearing a couple times, both for the practice using his leg, and to make sure it was attached properly. He didn't want to stop again to fix it, he just wanted to get flying. As Hiccup turned around to return to the pond, something dark just beyond the trees caught his eye. He squinted and covered his eyes to block out the morning sun, trying to see what it was. Unsuccessful, Hiccup inched closer to the trees, just in case it was a wild animal. Dragons he could handle, but whatever it was was far too small to be a dragon. Just as he was about to step within the tree line he stumbled, flying forward. Hiccup cringed, braced his arms for impact and closed his eyes, awaiting the pain of landing face first in the dirt. No such pain came.

Hiccup opened his eyes, expecting to see Toothless at his side, holding his clumsy rider up. Instead he saw a tall auburn haired Viking female holding him by the arm. That must have been the dark thing in the woods, someone from the village come to go fishing or collect firewood. "Thanks," Hiccup mumbled feebly as he stepped back to dust himself off and survey the Viking before him. She dressed oddly, lots of patches and holes adorned her filthy, ragged clothes. Tough fingerless leather gloves that looked like they'd been through hell and back adorned her hands, and her pants were black, although it was apparent they had once been blue. He definitely didn't recognize her from the village. Nobody dressed like that where he came from, dishevelled was one look vikings managed to avoid. But he did recognise her, or at least, he thought he did.

"No problem," The girl replied, "You should be more careful, you could break a leg if you don't watch where you step!"

'poor choice of words' he thought to himself, but chose instead to say "Thanks for the advice." Silently he wondered what village this stranger was from. Not all the neighbouring tribes where dragon friendly like Berk, and this clearing was pretty far from Berk, how else would he have kept Toothless hidden so long?

"So, you must be Hiccup, Hero of Berk! Nice to meet you, Hiccup!"

The remark threw Hiccup off. This complete stranger knew him? Maybe she was from the village after all. She did look vaguely familiar through all the grime… Maybe he had seen those green eyes somewhere before?

"Nice to meet you too. I'm sorry, I don't recognize you from around town, you are?"

The girl smiled. "Don't worry about it, I'm not around really around town much. I'm Valkyrie. I heard about you, um, through the grapevine, you know, people in the village." she fidgeted as she spoke, like she was struggling to find the right words to describe how she had heard about Hiccup's actions at the dragon's nest.

"Oh, um, cool. So you're from Berk? And I thought I'd met everyone!" Hiccup asked, genuinely curious if anyone he knew from town could tell him more about the strange female in front of him. She was skinny like him, not like the other Viking women in his village, who seemed to get wider every day. Even Astrid was filling out a bit of muscle from all her constant training. Although something told Hiccup this girl wasn't skinny by choice... she looked a little malnourished. He could see most of the bones in her arms very clearly.

Valkyrie shrugged, "I'm from the area I guess."

"You guess?" asked a confused Hiccup, "What do you mean you guess?"

Valkyrie tensed up, she seemed to Hiccup to be unnaturally aware of her surroundings, like she was afraid she would be attacked by a wild animal. She looked around avoiding eye contact, finally, avoiding the question she answered, "Hey, I don't supposed I could get a ride into town, could I?" She looked expectantly over at Toothless, who was still catching (or rather, struggling to catch) more fish from the pond.

"Uh, sure..." Hiccup answered slowly, cautious since this stranger wouldn't answer his question. But he obliged anyway, hoping maybe someone at the village would recognise her. His dad new everyone, and most of the neighbouring tribes too, surely he would know the tall, starving woman in front of him. After all, her appearance was definitely unique.

The pair walked over to the dragon, Valkyrie kindly assisting Hiccup with his balance. Toothless looked up from the pond, to inspect the newcomer. When they reached Toothless he gave Valkyrie a head-to-toe sniff, while she stood there awkwardly awaiting the dragon's approval. Hiccup started to saddle up while watching, amused. When the inspection was complete Toothless snorted and then turned to Hiccup, and gave him a big, doe-eyed look.

"Well, what's that mean?" questioned Valkyrie, "Did I pass or what?"

"He likes you, " responded Hiccup casually, "That's a good thing. If he doesn't like someone he usually tries to attack them, or at least growl at them."

"Nice, " said Valkyrie, patting Toothless "I like you too bud."

Hiccup smiled. He'd just met this girl, and yet Toothless had already taken a shine to her. "Okay, "he said when he was done saddling up, "Let's fly!"

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**There you are, the first chapter, redone! Hope you liked it! Not much changed for those of you who read it before, just sorta took out a character I didn't need. Sorry it's so short, the next chapter will be much longer! **

**Just a side note, all my OC names are real Norse names! Valkyrie means "chooser of the slain" I chose the names for how they sounded, not their meanings, so don't read to much into it, lol. Anyway, REVIEW PLEASE! It makes me feel special! =D Also, if you spot any spelling mistakes, let me know, and I will fix them.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Docks

**Here you go everybody, chapter two! I got a few reviews asking to please update soon, and since people took the time to review I thought I'd be nice and update nice and quick for them! :)**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

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When Toothless and his Viking riders landed in Berk the sun was up and it was early afternoon. The docks were bustling with Vikings; some men had just returned from their morning fishing haul, and another boat was pulling in from a trade route with another tribe. At the end of the docks carts were being loaded and sent off full of fresh fish and goods for the market.

"It's been a while since I've been to the docks." Valkyrie said, conversationally. She watched with an awed look as carts rolled past and Vikings boarded ships on both sides.

"It's just the docks," said Hiccup, "You're not missing anything special"

"Right, of course, not missing anything." Valkyrie repeated, as though she was trying to convince herself it was true. Her eyes glazed over like she was in some kind trance, and Hiccup could tell something was wrong.

"Hey, um, are you okay?" He asked.

The stick thin young woman looked up, roused from her trance-like state. "Ya, I'm fine. I should go, I need to go buy some things at the market. Thanks for the ride!" She said, changing the topic of conversation for the second time that day. Then , without looking back she turned and headed toward the end of the dock, into town.

"Wait!" Hiccup called after her, "I have to go to the market too! Maybe we could go together?"

Valkyrie stopped and sighed. This day was not at all going as she had planned. Here she was in Berk, with Hiccup. She was practically asking to get caught. She vowed at that moment to never hitch a ride into town again, especially with the chief's son. The risk was too great. If she kept this up, she would have an ulcer before she was thirty. Or worse, she'd be caught. And yet even though she was taking an insane amount of risk by being with Hiccup, she couldn't help it. She had waited over ten years to be able to spend time with Stoick's son, to get to know him. "Sure," she replied, trying to mask her reluctance, "I would love to." Oddly enough, the second part of her statement wasn't a lie, she wanted to spend time with Hiccup, she just didn't want to get caught doing it.

"Great! I need some supplies for the shop!"

Hiccup and Valkyrie said farewell to Toothless and then the pair wandered down the dock towards the marketplace located along the east side of the port. As they approached the volume of carts and Vikings increased until it was impossible to walk without bumping into people on either side. The voices of merchants selling their wares could be heard all around, and the smell of fresh fish and cooking fires filled the air. Valkyrie's eyes darted from face to face and stall to stall, nervously searching for the face of Stoic the Vast, the man she feared more than anything. Hiccup was oblivious Valkyrie's fear as he strolled down the market path searching for the stall that sold leather hides.

"Here we are!" Hiccup exclaimed when he reached his destination. He started rifling through the hanging leather hides trying to pick the best for his work. Meanwhile Valkyrie was at a neighbouring stall silently wafting through the crowd looking at the occasional tunic or pair of gloves. Hiccup couldn't help but think to himself that she definitely could use the new clothes. Hers were ragged and filthy. When she wondered over to the soap stall it drew his attention to the fact that it didn't really look like she'd bathed recently either. Mud and grease were making her auburn hair look more like a rats nest than hair. Hiccup's thoughts were cut short when Valkyrie came over to him, hands in her large, oversized pockets.

"Did you get everything you need?" she asked politely, grabbing Hiccup's arm and pulling herself closer into the stall.

"Ya, I guess. I'll have to come back later with some more money. Who knew dead cow skin would be so expensive?" Hiccup sarcastically remarked.

Valkyrie laughed, to Hiccup's surprise. All the Vikings in the village looked down on his sarcasm, nobody ever laughed with him.

"Tell me about it!" she agreed, eyes twinkling with laughter, "This stuff is outrageous!"

Hiccup couldn't help but notice her eyes while she laughed. They seemed familiar, but that was impossible. She was a complete stranger to him before today. And yet her green eyes spoke volumes to him.

"Anyway," he said, "did you get what you needed? You don't have any bags!" He motioned to her hands, which were still in her pockets.

"Oh, um, ya, no, like you said, everything here is so expensive! I'll come back later." While answering her eyes shifted around awkwardly, like she was suddenly not comfortable. "Can, um, we get outta here? I don't like the crowds."

"Okay," said Hiccup, not noticing her odd behaviour. She offered a fair excuse and she had been acting restless almost constantly since arriving in town. Maybe crowds just weren't her thing.

"Want to get something to eat?" he offered, gesturing toward a nearby tavern. "They have the best fish in to–"

"Hiccup, my boy!"

Hiccup was interrupted by the booming voice of his father lumbering down the street with a full sack of grain slung over his broad shoulder.

"Hey Dad, I have someone I would like you to meet. Her name is-" He turned toward Valkyrie, only to find the green-eyed stranger had swiftly melted into the crowd without so much as a noise, "...Valkyrie. Well, she was right here. "

"Valkyrie, now there is a good Viking name I haven't heard in some time. You'll have to introduce me some other time son, maybe when your friend is feeling less shy." commented Stoick.

"Sure, she'll be back, hopefully."

"Anyway Hiccup, I'm glad I've run in to yeh. I wanted to let you know I have a village meeting tonight so I will be home late. Now if you'll excuse me I have work to do." With that parting phrase Stoick headed off toward the bakery to deliver the daily shipment of grain from the ships.

Hiccup groaned. Where the heck had Valkyrie gone? More importantly why had she darted off? He glanced around, trying to figure out which way she had gone, but it was impossible to tell. People were all over, filling any gaps in the crowd caused by Valkyrie's departure. 'Maybe she headed to the tavern like I suggested?' Hiccup thought to himself. He pushed his way through the crowded street and pulled the heavy wooden door of the tavern open. He scanned the room, desperately hoping that he would spot her auburn hair somewhere in the room. No such luck. The tavern was almost exclusively filled with drunken Vikings taking a lunch break for some fish and ale. No tall, malnourished female vikings anywhere.

He pushed the pulled the door back open and surveyed the market street again to see if she'd returned. He had been so looking forward to introducing her to his father to see if he knew her from another tribe or to see if he could tell him more about her. Now he would never know. He couldn't see her, and she wasn't in the tavern, there was really nowhere else he could think that she would go. 'Think,' thought Hiccup, 'where do you know her from? She has to be from around the village, you've never been enywhere else but this island! Think!' He rubbed his temples, frusterated that he couldn't remember her from anywhere. Some of the merchants were screaming in the background, making it even harder to focus.

"Hey, I'm missing a tunic!"

"Thief! Thief! Someone has stolen my leather gloves!"

"My wallet is gone!"

"Who knocked over my soap cart?"

The cacophony of noise was too much for Hiccup. He couldn't see Valkyrie, or where she'd gone. Now he would probably never get to know if he really had met her before, or if his memories where playing tricks on him.

"Bye," he mumbled to himself, somewhat sarcastically adding, "it was nice meeting you."

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**Well I hope you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it! What's with Valkyrie being all shifty and nervous? And why doesn't she want to bump into Stoick? I guess you'll have to kep reading to find out! And just a quick side note; I will ocassionally spell things Stoick or other Vikings say wrong. I am doing it on purpose, trying to recreate their accent in text. Anyway as always reviews are fabulous and constructive critisism is welcome. **

**Thanks for reading and have a good day (or night!)**


	3. Chapter 3: Second Encounters

**Chapter three everybody! This is the longest chapter yet, so for those of you that enjoy long chapters, there you go! This is the chapter where things start to get interesting. I won't tell you why, I'll just let you read and find out. :)**

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Hiccup woke early the next day to go fishing on the west side of the island where the tide was just coming in. It took him a while to gather his stuff and get packed, his prosthesis hindering his ability to move around and gather his fishing gear. When he had finally collected all his fishing equipment was ready to get flying it was just past dawn. The sun was a tangerine orb just hovering above the horizon, while the sky around it was striped with magnificent gold and crimson coloured clouds. The sight reminded Hiccup of an old sailor adage his father used to tell him as a child. 'Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky in morning, sailors take warning,' He thought to himself silently, 'Guess it's a good thing I'm not taking a boat out to fish today.'

Toothless was outside waiting for Hiccup. Normally he slept inside, but the night before Stoick had requested he sleep outside since they would be leaving in the early morning and Toothless had a tendency to make a lot noise when indoors. He couldn't help it; his tail just has a mind of its own. This morning he was right outside the door, quivering with delight as he had watched Hiccup get ready from the window. Hiccup gave Toothless a couple pats on the head, an apology for taking so long to get outside, and then he mounted his impatient dragon. A few seconds to adjust the harness and they were off, flying high above the village through the low morning mist that enveloped parts of the island.

The wind was icy as they raced across the island to the far side. The ice crystals in the fog burned Hiccup's cheeks like sandpaper, leaving a pink hue to them. They dipped lower to avoid the low-lying mist, now skimming the tree tops as they flew past. The tips of evergreens like emerald green mountain peaks forming a jagged expanse of trees in all directions. The hue of the trees brought to Hiccup's memory back to the vivid green of the stranger he met the day before.

"Valkyrie." He whispered to himself as the landscape rushed by.

He had dreamt of the foreign girl that night. Her pale complexion and green eyes haunted his sleep. They were unsettlingly familiar, and yet he could not place them. Her vanishing act the previous day had only added to the mystery surrounding her appearance on the island and her familiar looks. Unfortunately, Hiccup realised, his chances of meeting her again where against him. He would never know who she was, where she was from, and why in such a small tribe and neighbouring area, he had never heard of or met her before.

While Hiccup pondered his chances of meeting the auburn amazon Viking again, Toothless continued his flight towards the west. Eventually the trees gave way to a glittering ocean. The sunlight reflecting off the ocean broke Hiccup from his contemplation. He slowly guided Toothless to glide in a wide circle around the coast, looking for a nice beach for him to cast his line from. As they revolved around Hiccup noticed a small, fishing hut not far from the shore, smoke was floating from the chimney. 'That's odd' thought Hiccup, 'I didn't think anyone did any fishing on this side of the island? All the fish are too small for big burly Vikings!' Curious, he and Toothless manoeuvred down to the beach not far from the hut, and Hiccup dismounted.

"I'm just going to check out that hut bud." He informed Toothless, "I'll be right back."

Toothless cocked his head and peered into the woods in the direction of the shack, and then looked back at Hiccup. The hut wasn't visible from the shore, which was odd for a fishing hut, usually they were located much closer to the water. Hiccup began to hobble toward the forest, Toothless following in case his clumsy rider needed a hand, and because he was curious too. Together they trekked over the stony Norse landscape toward the little wooden shelter. Upon reaching the shack Hiccup could see that it was very rundown, obviously in desperate need of repair. The roof was concave, like it was ready to collapse at a moment's notice, and the wood siding was starting to rot. All the same the smoke from the chimney told Hiccup somebody was home. He knocked, and waited several minutes for the occupants to open the door.

'Maybe they're out fishing?' he reasoned.

Abruptly the door of the fishing cottage flew open and the occupant tackled Hiccup to the ground, snarling like a wild beast in the process. Hiccup clenched his eyes and gulped, feeling the cold, foreboding texture of metal against his Adams apple. Toothless growled at the wild human sitting on his rider holding him hostage, but there was nothing he could do. If he pounced on them they could accidentally slash Hiccup's throat.

"Why are you here?" the person demanded in a familiar female voice, "Did your father send you?"

"No," Hiccup responded meekly, "Nobody sent me."

"Are you here about the stuff from the market?"

The question threw Hiccup. Stuff from the market? What was this person talking about? Hiccup opened one eye a sliver, and was shocked to see the person sitting on his chest holding him hostage was the same person who the day before had stopped him from falling face first into the ground.

"Valkyrie?" he gasped, astonished.

The girl didn't respond, she just continued to press the knife to his throat, waiting for an answer. The eyes that had previously seemed so warm and familiar were now full of an unreadable mix of emotions. Rage, panic, fear, it was impossible to see just one.

Hiccup took the hint. "No," he replied, "I'm not here for anything. We saw your hut from the air and thought we'd check it out. Had no idea you'd be here. Will you please get off me now?"

Valkyrie gave him a sceptical look, but she withdrew the knife and stood up anyway.

"So," started Hiccup, rubbing the spot where the blade had been, "do you greet all your visitors with a knife to the throat or just me?"

"I don't get visitors" explained Valkyrie, "I thought you were here to take back the stuff from the market." She was actually more afraid he was here to bring her in to his father, but she didn't let him know that.

"What stuff are you talking about? You didn't buy anything!" Using Toothless as leverage he stood up and brushed himself off. Toothless stared at Valkyrie like he didn't know what to think off her anymore. He had liked her, but she had threatened Hiccup, and that didn't sit well with him.

Valkyrie stared at Hiccup like he was stupid. It took Hiccup a minute to realise she was wearing the tunic and gloves she had been looking at in the market.

"You stole those clothes?" Hiccup exclaimed.

"What else was I going to do? If you haven't noticed, I live in a shack that I can't afford to fix. How am I supposed to afford things like new clothes, or soap?" Valkyrie snapped back. She looked to Hiccup like she was somewhere between crying and having a fit of rage.

"Okay, okay," said Hiccup soothingly, "I get it. I'm sorry. I won't tell anyone you took that stuff."

At the mention of telling someone about the clothes Valkyrie few into another fit, this time pinning Hiccup to the tree behind him. Once again Toothless was helpless as his master was held at knifepoint by this crazy woman with ridiculously fast reflexes.

"Damn right you won't tell anyone." She yelled, "You won't tell anyone about the clothes, or anything else. You won't tell anyone I'm out here either. You breathe a single word to anyone about my whereabouts and I swear to you I will murder you in your sleep so fast you won't even wake up."

Hiccup swallowed nervously, once again feeling the ice cold knife pressed against his jugular.

"Of course, I m-mean who would I t-t-tell anyway?" Hiccup stammered, "N-nobody cares about stolen goods or old fishing huts. Your secret is safe with me."

"You promise?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Do. You. Promise?" The words sounded incredibly threatening as she enunciated each word.

"Okay, I promise. I won't tell a soul. I swear!"

Valkyrie backed off for the second time, this time Hiccup remained silent, slowly inching his way back to Toothless without taking his eyes off Valkyrie. Toothless sniffed Hiccup's neck making sure there was no blood. There was a pale pink line indicating the previous presence of the blade, one solitary bead of blood hung from the tip of the line.

"I'm okay bud," Hiccup assured him wiping away the drip, "She didn't hurt me."

Valkyrie watched and immediately regretted her actions. She was always so on guard. Scaring Hiccup probably only increased the chance he would report her to his father. She should have just hid in the woods and pretended she wasn't home. Now she had painted a big red target on her back and hurt the only person to have tried to spend any time with her in over ten years. She felt her eyes water as she watched the boy and his dragon. She must have come across like some kind of monster.

When Toothless finished inspecting him Hiccup mounted his dragon. "I'm going to leave now," He informed Valkyrie so she didn't tackle him off his dragon, "I don't know why this matters so much to you, but you have my word that I won't tell anyone."And with that parting promise they took off before she could stop them. Valkyrie watched helpless as they flew away, fading into a little black dot in the clouds. There was nothing she could do now but pray that he would keep his word.

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**Wow that girl is all over the place isn't she? And what is with the randomly attacking Hiccup? I hope I've got you hooked! Next chapter follows Valkyrie after the most recent encounter, and I warn you now, she's not completely sane. We'll leave it at that. Just like before reviews are really appreciated!**

**Thanks for reading! I will update as soon as I can, hopefully before the end of the weekend.**


	4. Chapter 4: Panic

**A quick note before you start reading, Hiccup is 15 years old as I'm writing this. I dunno I just thought he could pass for 15 in the movie. Anyway the reason I'm telling you this is because Valkyrie talks about her age kinda in this chapter, I just wanted to give some perspective since I've had someone question Valkyrie's familiar appearance. I don't want to ruin any of the surprises I have planned, but I wanted to answer their question, so there.**

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As soon as Hiccup was out of sight Valkyrie rushed back into her small wooden cabin and threw herself onto the bed in a fit. "No!" she screamed, battering the bed with her fists, "No! No! NO!" The bed frame groaned in response to the beating, if she had been any heavier it probably would have collapsed from the stress. "No more time with Hiccup, no more lifting supplies from town, and no more risking running into Stoick!" The kicking and screaming continued as she yelled to the walls of her hut.

Within a few minutes the tantrum ended, and Valkyrie grew still. She panted heavily, exhausted from the loss of energy. 'I've watched over him since I was ten. I've watched over Hiccup for thirteen years, and I finally get a chance to meet him and the next day I screw it up!' she thought to herself. A lonely tear rolled down her cheek as she remembered the harm she had inflicted on Hiccup. She shouldn't have been so hostile, but she couldn't help it. Her hostility was a learned behaviour, a defence mechanism she had developed over the years.

"Now he's going to tell his father where to find me, and Stoick will hunt me down like the savage I know he is! What was I thinking? I shouldn't have helped Hiccup yesterday when he fell, and I shouldn't have asked for a ride." She rolled onto her back and ran her dirty fingers through her copper hair in exasperation.

"What do you mean you shouldn't have helped him? What about all the dragons you saved him from when he was still a child? You kept him safe when his father failed to. Without you that boy would be dead!"

Valkyrie looked around the room panicked, searching for the speaker that had encouraged her actions the previous day. It took her a moment to realise she was alone, and that it had been her that had spoken. That was happening more and more often, a side effect of living alone.

"I'm right," she agreed, "I can't continue to stay away from Hiccup. He needs me. Who else will protect him? His father? Stoick is incapable of being a good father."

She stopped, remembering the encounters she had had with Stoick when she was a child. His condescending voice, his demanding behaviour, the violent attitude, he scared her even now that she was an adult. She shivered, an ice cold feeling of dread enveloping her.

"Oh Gods," Valkyrie worried, "he's going to bring Stoick to get me. Any minute I am going to see an axe through that door." At that thought she crept up from the bed and nervously peeked through the grimy window, half expecting the broad figure of her nemesis to emerge through the woods and charge her hut. No such vision met her eyes, but her fear did not dissipate any.

"I can't continue living like this," she cried, this time instead of a single tear, an avalanche, "I can't continue living in hiding! I hate you Stoick for what you've done to me!"

Again the mystery voice that was her own spoke, interrupting the trembling, crying breakdown. "You can trust Hiccup. He is a good kid; you should know that, you watched him grow up. He's not like his father."

Valkyrie wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffed. Once again she again she agreed with her other more assuring personality.

"Ya," she whispered to herself,"I can trust him. I hope." She turned from the window and placed her back against the wall, sliding down as she relaxed. The muscles in her legs slowly released, allowing her to fold into a ball on the floor.

"I hope."

She spent the next few hours, just sitting with her knees to her chest, on the floor. There she remained, trembling and wringing her hands, waiting to see if Hiccup would keep his word. She just sat there, listening for the slightest noise, the smallest movement outside the door. A twig snapped outside and she jumped up, handed flying straight to the knife tucked away in her belt. Slowly she looked out the window again, only to find the source of the noise was a squirrel, and that it was late afternoon, early evening.

She sighed. Time to get over her fear and get hunting, either that or starve. She grabbed her bow, and some arrows, and headed out to catch her first meal of the day.

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**For those of you who didn't feel like doing the math, Valkyrie is 23. I just thought I'd make it clear since I know not everyone likes having to do math when they read, I know I don't! :P**

**Anyway, I had a lot of trouble illustrating Valkyrie's lack of sanity. Maybe you could let me know how I did with a review? It was my first time writing about a character that isn't all there in the head if ya know what if mean.**

**Also, the next chapter is a long one so it will take me a little longer than normal to update! I appreciate your patience, I will have it done as soon as I can I promise!**


	5. Chapter 5: Apologies

**Hey everybody! Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter, I have midterms right now so I had to put this off for a day or two. Also, this chapter is HUGE, so it took me a little while longer to write. Thank you to everyone that has reviewed, I really appreciate it! I would especially like to thank A Frumious Bandersnatch for giving me some great idea's for Valkyrie! You will see some of them in the next chapter! **

**Anyway I am going to shut up now and let you read since thats why you're here for after all!**

**~Enjoy!**

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Hiccup flew directly home after his encounter with Valkyrie at the fishing hut. The imprint of the knife against his neck remained, and adrenaline still coursed through his veins from the initial fright, all he wanted was to hide in his room and think over what had happened. He and Toothless landed swiftly in the backyard, and boy and dragon made a beeline for the back door. Together they darted through the door and through the log residence towards the stairs, passing Stoic on their way.

"Hi Dad! Bye Dad!" Hiccup called behind him, not stopping in his quest to get to his bedroom.

Stoick could tell something was up, even if he wasn't the most perceptive father when it came to his son.

"Hiccup! Come here son." He beckoned to his son to join him in the common room that was the main floor of their house.

Hiccup paused, and then reluctantly trudged over to meet his father. Toothless followed, equally reluctant. When Hiccup reached his dad, he stopped, head down. He didn't want his father to see the small rose coloured mark Valkyrie's blade had left behind on his neck.

"Yes dad?"

Stoick furrowed his brow. Hiccup only acted like this when he was defeated or feeling miserable after doing something stupid. "Is everything alright son?" he asked, as gently as his great Viking voice would allow.

Hiccup couldn't meet his father's eyes. He couldn't lie to his face. He turned his lowered head towards Toothless for support, and in response Toothless nuzzled his thigh lightly. It was as if he was trying to say 'It's okay, I'm here for you.' It was beyond reassuring to Hiccup to have his best friend at his side.

"Everything is fine," Hiccup lied, "I'm uh, just not feeling well."

Stoick stared at his son, looking him over searching for anything that would tell him otherwise. He had no reason not to trust his son, but his intuition was telling him that Hiccup wasn't 'fine'. Hiccup could feel his eyes boring down on him. He closed his eyes, praying to the gods his father would believe him, and that he wouldn't notice his minor cut. Unbeknownst to Hiccup, Stoick had noticed the mark the knife had left behind, but he had simply dismissed it as an accidental scratch. After all Hiccup was clumsy, especially on his new leg.

Finally after what felt like hours, Stoick's small inspection ended. "Okay," he announced, "you get some rest. We need our dragon trainer to be healthy!"

Hiccup managed a weak smile before turning around and heading back toward the pine staircase. He ascended slowly, with Toothless following. At the top they turned left and entered Hiccup's bedroom. It was a modest room, with a small bed with a nightstand next to it. The corner had a wooden desk and chair, with a shelf mounted above holding a few books and journals. The tiny room wasn't much to look at on its own, but Hiccup had papered the walls with sketches of Toothless, Astrid, other dragons, and projects he was working on. Most of the wall has hidden behind the drawings, only a small bit of wall around the window remained, but it was covered by the canvas curtains.

Hiccup flopped down on his bed and closed his eyes. "I kept my promise." he said to Toothless, "She has nothing to worry about. I have nothing to worry about."

Toothless gave Hiccup a sad puppy-dog-eyed look. The boy knew what that look meant. The shimmering eyes of his dragon told him; 'Are you sure your okay? I was afraid she was going to kill you!'

Hiccup gave Toothless a reassuring pat on the head. "I'm fine bud, really. I think we scared her, that's all. We shouldn't have trespassed on her property. She had a normal, Viking reaction, attack first, ask questions later. Literally."

Toothless whimpered and curled up beside Hiccup on the bed, or rather he curled up on the bed, relocating Hiccup to the floor.

"Thanks," Hiccup grumbled as he picked himself up and moved to his chair in the corner. There, he sat, watching Toothless rest on his bed, while thinking to himself about his run in with Valkyrie earlier that day. He hadn't lied to his father because he was scared. No, he'd been threatened before, he could take that. No he'd lied simply because he gave his word to the strange girl, and for reasons he still didn't fully understand he trusted her. Well, all that and he figured she was like Astrid, she wouldn't actually kill him, but she would certainly make him hurt if he broke his promise. That and Astrid had the same attack first, ask later mentality that Valkyrie and most to the tribe had.

'Yup, just like Astrid.' He thought to himself, 'Astrid punches me even for no reason sometimes!'

Thinking of Astrid made Hiccup smile, calming him down. He still couldn't believe he was lucky enough to have her as a girlfriend. With the adrenaline finally out of his system, Hiccup was able to think more clearly. "You know," he thought out loud, "Maybe I should go apologise for trespassing? I shouldn't have assumed that someone from the village lived there, or that I was welcome." He wasn't talking to anyone is particular, Toothless was asleep, but all the same he paused and waited briefly before talking again.

"I'll bring her some food to say sorry," He decided, "She certainly looks like she could use it! She's skinnier than me, and I'm the skinniest person in the village!"

At the mention of food Toothless woke up and looked at Hiccup, ears standing at attention. He hopped off the bed and licked his lips, letting his rider know that he was hungry. Toothless was always hungry.

Hiccup understood in an instant. He was hungry too; neither had eaten breakfast since they were hoping to have a meal of fresh fish that morning instead of bumping into Valkyrie. Now it was early afternoon and his stomach was rumbling audibly.

"Come on Toothless, lets go get some food."

Toothless nearly knocked Hiccup over as he raced out of the room and down the stairs. Hiccup followed with a smile, closing his bedroom door behind him.

* * *

The next morning Hiccup woke up early again. He went down to the kitchen to pack this time, grabbing his food gift/peace offering he'd purchased the day before, after his brunch with Toothless. He'd gone to the market, and bought a fire roasted chicken, a loaf of rye bread, some freshly picked apples and plums, a large chunk of cheese and a bottle of milk. Pleased that he had bought enough food to fatten up the malnourished girl in the woods, and have a bit leftover for himself in the hope he would be invited in, he had stored it all at home for the next day. For any normal person, such a feast would have cost a small fortune, but for Hiccup the villagers would give him stuff for free or at a discounted price, a small thank you for saving them from the Red Death. Now the time had come to pack up his feast, and take it to Valkyrie, and the only thing left to do was pick up some fresh salmon for Toothless, so he didn't try to eat Valkyrie's gift.

The sky was cloudy and ash grey as Hiccup and Toothless walked into town for the catch of the day. Some fishermen were already dumping fish out of giant nets and into the huge dragon feeding troughs outside the dragon roost. Not all Vikings let their dragon sleep in their home like Hiccup allowed Toothless, some preferred to let their dragon sleep in the village roost that had been resurrected shortly after Berk was reformed as dragon friendly. Toothless wasn't the only dragon up early, two monstrous nightmares were chowing down while Hiccup added some fish to his basket and Toothless gobbled up a couple fish while waiting.

As soon as Hiccup had packed a sufficient number of fish for his dragon he loaded his massive basket onto Toothless and mounted him. They took off across the bleak sky towards the other side of the island, just like the day before. Fog still clung to the island as they soared through the air, but today it was wet, and even though it wasn't raining both dragon and rider were completely soaked by the time they reached the opposite coast of Berk.

Toothless glided down onto the pebbly beach, landing as close to the tree line as possible. Hiccup dismounted, and slowly walked toward the shack concealed in the woods. Hiccup made plenty of noise as he crashed through the undergrowth, hoping Valkyrie would hear him coming and not attack. When he reached the hut, he took several steps away from the door, making sure he wasn't lined up with the entrance. Then, rather than knocking since he could no longer reach the door he yelled his greeting towards the shack to let Valkyrie know he was there.

"Valkyrie!" He called in the direction of the hut, "It's Hiccup. I wanted to apologise for yesterday." Every muscle in his body tensed as he waited to see if he had done enough to avoid getting blitzed again. Toothless crouched, ready to pounce on the girl if she tried to hurt Hiccup again. Together they waited, watching the door with baited breath, waiting to see if Valkyrie would come out and accept his apology.

A few seconds later to Hiccup's immense relief the door opened, slowly revealing the tall green eyed Viking that lived there. She stared at Hiccup, dark circles surrounding her eyes, salt streaks stained her cheeks. Anyone could see she'd spent the night crying.

"I'm here to apologise for trespassing yesterday," Hiccup told her quietly, "I didn't mean to scare you. I'm sorry."

Valkyrie hung her head; unable to look at Hiccup due to the guilt she was feeling. "I'm the one that should apologise," She responded, "I shouldn't have attacked you like that. I'm sorry I hurt you, and I am sorry I scared you."

They stared at each other for a moment before Hiccup decided to break the awkward silence. "I, uh, brought you some food." He said, gesturing to the basket on Toothless' back.

Valkyrie eyed the basket with a look of longing. "You brought food, for me?" she asked, confused as to why Hiccup would be so kind when she'd been so nasty the day before.

"Ya, a peace offering." He answered, grabbing the bag to open it and show her the feast he had packed.

"I don't deserve it." Said Valkyrie, turning her back to Hiccup, "please keep it."

"No!" Hiccup refused a little more loudly than necessary, his inner stubborn Viking coming out, "Whether you deserve it or not you are going to eat! You're skin and bones for Thor's sake!"

Valkyrie was stunned. Hiccup rarely asserted himself, and when he did it was usually because he felt very strongly about what he was saying. "Okay," she said, raising both her hands in mock defeat, "But can we eat inside? It looks like it's going to start raining any minute." She pointed at the sky, which had turned a dark iron colour. The clouds rolled about above like the gods were angry and it truly did look as though the sky was going to crack open at any moment and unleash the storm of the century.

Hiccup dragged the basket into the little shack; it was too heavy to carry when full. Valkyrie and Toothless followed. Toothless barely fit in the tiny little hut, he took up almost every ounce of free space that wasn't occupied by furniture. All that was left for Hiccup and Valkyrie was the bed. They sat down on the threadbare sheets and Hiccup opened the basket up to start the huge meal. He pulled out the cheese and bread to start and of course the salmon for Toothless. Hiccup wasn't at all surprised to see that Valkyrie ate like a ferocious beast, eating everything that was put in front of her. Hiccup was starting to think it was the first time she'd seen food in a while. Every now and again she would make a comment about the taste or appearance of the food, but otherwise they ate in silence. Determined to finally learn more about her, Hiccup broke the ice.

"So," he started, cautiously gauging Valkyrie's response as he spoke, "how long have you lived out here, on your own?"

"Thirteen years." Valkyrie was so busy eating she wouldn't even speak in full sentences; she just continued shoving food in her mouth, periodically stopping to drink some of the milk.

"You've been out here for thirteen years?" Hiccup repeated incredulously while he pulled the chicken out of the basket and laid it out on a plate on the bed. All the bread and cheese was gone, Valkyrie had eaten about three quarters of it herself.

"Ya." She confirmed through mouthfuls of chicken, adding; "Hammers of Thor this is delicious!"

Hiccup smiled at the comment but didn't say anything. Instead he unpacked the apples and plums, leaving them in a pile in the middle of the bed. Toothless had finished his salmon and was now lying on the floor of the shack, watching Valkyrie with careful eyes. His liked this stranger, but he wasn't sure if he could trust her after yesterday.

Meanwhile, Hiccup had finished unpacking the fruit and had decided on his next question. "Why do you live out here in this rundown old fishing hut?" he questioned. Then he grabbed a plum and cleaned it off on his olive green tunic before biting into it. He wanted to get a plum before Valkyrie ate them all. She had just finished most of the chicken and moved on to a large crimson apple.

"I don't want to talk about it."

Hiccup was going to ask why when it started to rain –indoors. The roof had so many holes in it that it was hardly better than being outside. The falling drops bothered Toothless the most, he gave the ceiling an annoyed look before looking around for a dryer part of the hut to move to. There wasn't one.

"Sorry," Valkyrie mumbled with her mouth full, "I need to get this whole place fixed up."

"No kidding." Hiccup thought out loud. He looked up, and through the holes in the ceiling he could tell that the ceiling was beyond repair. She needed a new roof. He looked back down, this time checking out the walls. They were in need of repair as well, but not like the roof. The walls were salvageable, some pieces were rotting, but the basic structure was fine.

"That whole roof needs replacing." He commented, just thinking with his mouth while he looked around.

Valkyrie's eyes widened. "I can't afford food or clothes, how am I going to get a new roof?" She didn't voice he main concern, which was who was going to fix it, since she didn't know how and she wasn't going to invite someone from Berk to fix it. That would give away her location.

Hiccup looked over the roof again from where he was sitting. With the right equipment he could fix it. He built Toothless' flying apparatus, and his blacksmith job made him good with his hands, not to mention the years of practice repairing his own house after dragon raids. He could fix the roof, and it would give him a chance to get to know Valkyrie some more, finally learn if he had met her before or not.

"I could do it." He announced casually, like roof repair was an everyday thing for him, "I could repair the roof, maybe the walls too."

Valkyrie looked at Hiccup like he'd just answered her prayers. "Really, you would do that for me? You barely know me!"

"Ya sure," he replied, "I can fix this place up, and in return I get to ask you questions. Whatever I want"

That idea seemed to scare her. She blanched and bit her lip nervously before replying. "Questions? Like what?"

"Why you live out here, on your own. And other stuff, I don't know, just simple questions."

Valkyrie mulled it over. The offer was tempting, but she didn't like the idea of having to be interviewed. Then again, she could always lie if she didn't want to answer.

"So you will fix my roof, for free, and all I have to do is answer some questions?" She wanted confirmation of the deal before she agreed to anything. You could never be too careful.

"Ya. I'll bring some equipment in from town to help. So, what do you say? Deal?" Hiccup stared at her gently, waiting patiently for reply. To his surprise, her response was to remove one of her gloves, spit on her palm, and extend her filthy saliva covered hand toward him. Hiccup had heard of the custom of shaking hands from other tribes, but he didn't know it was so messy.

"Deal."

Hiccup reluctantly spat on his hand and shook on it, cringing when his hand met hers in a squishy embrace. Toothless watched the exchange, thinking to himself that this Valkyrie girl was hard to read. One day she seemed friendly, the next she threatened Hiccup. Now that she was acting nice again, he was ready to give her one last chance, but if she hurt Hiccup, he vowed he would hurt her. Nobody hurt his human!

As they shook hands the rain outside and inside the cottage stopped. A small beam of sun filtered down through the roof, illuminating the tiny shack. Hiccup noticed the change and broke the hand shake, wiping his hand off on his pants. "I should get going," he said, and then gesturing upwards he explained, "I don't want to fly in the rain. I should head back before it starts again." Toothless appeared to agree with Hiccup, stretching his legs and wings for flight, at least, as much as he could in the tiny space. "Valkyrie showed Hiccup to the door, and helped Toothless through the doorframe, which he seemed to appreciate.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Hiccup asked as he set up his partner's saddle. He wanted to start the repairs as soon as possible since the weather in Berk unpredictable, no matter what season it was, but it wasn't his house (could you call it a house?), so her deferred to Valkyrie for permission.

She was in agreement. "Okay! I'll be waiting." She said with a smile as she watched Hiccup gracefully mount Toothless and take off into a low glide just above the tree tops.

"Alright!" he called down to her, "See you then!"

At that moment Valkyrie realized he was forgetting something. "Wait!" she yelled into the sky at him, "You forgot the leftover fruit!"

"Keep it! You need it more than I do!" he hollered in reply before soaring away, back towards his Village.

Valkyrie looked down at her emaciated body. She looked like a skeleton with skin, she could tell even through her clothes. "I'm not gonna fight you on that!" she replied to Hiccup, even though he was far out of earshot. Then when the he was out of sight as well, she went back inside to have another apple.

* * *

**Aww, isn't Hiccup nice, bringing food to say sorry. I did my best to base to food on things Vikings actually had available at the time. The only thing that was a little bit of a stretch was the bread. Vikings didn't make rye, they made barley flatbread, but I wanted something more loaf-like, so i improvised. Vikings have rye grain available, thats where I got the idea. Also, did you know Vikings ate cheese with every meal? Just a little historical fact. Anyway I will stop innundating you with history and let you go. **

**Thank you again for reading! Feel free to review! If you do, you'll be making my day!**

**Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6: Repairs and Past Affairs

**Here it is everybody, the long-awaited chapter six! I say long awaited because it took me forever to write it. Sorry.**

**Anyway, I hope you like it! Chapter six: for your approval!**

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For the third day in a row Hiccup woke up with the sun, intent on getting an early start to the day's tasks. Today he would start his repairs of Valkyrie's fishing hut, the first day of many in which he would be flying to see her in the morning, before flying back to the village in the afternoon for his apprenticeship with Gobber. Hiccup didn't know why Valkyrie wanted to keep her location a secret, but as long as he was working on her shack he would. He would wake up early, like today, so nobody would see him leave, and be back for work later. Nobody would even know he was missing, just like when he would see Toothless before the incident with the Red Death.

Like the day before Hiccup decided to bring food with him. If he was going to be spending time everyday with Valkyrie then maybe he could make sure she ate too, since he couldn't stand looking at her bones protruding from her skin. After all, it's not like the people in the village would miss the extra food. Today his bag was full of carpentry tools he'd borrowed from his house and fish he'd packed for lunch. It was so heavy Toothless struggled to fly with it strapped to his back with Hiccup, it was so heavy in fact that they barely made it to Valkyrie's hut without landing for a break.

When they did finally arrive Valkyrie was outside chopping wood with an axe. Several small and a couple large trees sat beside her in a pile, waiting to be cut to pieces. Hiccup landed and dismounted, unloading his winged friend of his bag.

"Hey," he greeted Valkyrie casually, giving a short yet awkward wave.

Valkyrie didn't respond, she just smiled and beckoned Hiccup towards the hut.

"I started chopping some wood for you," she explained, gesturing to the pile of trees beside her, "but I didn't know what sizes you would need for the roof."

"Don't worry about it. I have to take measurements of the place first so I know what size to make the supporting beams." Hiccup pulled out a roll of string for his bag and walked over to the house to start taking measurements. Valkyrie followed, hoping to learn about the repair process, so maybe she could do it herself in the future. Hiccup looked around the shack as he entered, getting a good look at the one room interior. There wasn't much to see, just a bed with some ragged sheets, some storage cupboards in the corner, and a small desk with a chair under the window. Like Hiccup's room, the only sign anyone lived there was a sketch tacked to the wall. Curious, he approached the sketch wondering what a recluse like Valkyrie would want a sketch of in the first place.

The picture was of a man and woman, holding a baby. They looked overjoyed, smiling from ear to ear. The man was stocky and clean shaven, which was odd, but not unheard of for a Viking. The woman was normal looking, with blonde braided hair and a curvy build. "Who are they?" Hiccup asked, pointing a finger at the sketch.

"They're my parents." Valkyrie responded, passing Hiccup and grabbing the sketch off the wall, "They hired someone to sketch us as a family when I was born." See stared at it longingly, like she wanted nothing more than to go back to the time the sketch was made. Her longer shifted to bottled anger as she continued staring at the paper, her inner emotions having some kind of battle over the contents on the page. It looked strange to Hiccup, but he couldn't quite place Valkyrie's simultaneous bipolar reaction, so he misstook it for confusion.

Hiccup moved closer so he could take another look at the picture. For new parents they sure looked young. Valkyrie's mom couldn't have been more than eighteen when this picture was made, and her father didn't look much older. On his second glance at the picture Hiccup also noticed how much Valkyrie looked like her mom. They had the same facial structure, the same eyes, even the same nose. From what he could tell Valkyrie didn't share a single common characteristic with her father, except maybe his freckles and height. It was hard to be sure though, since the sketch was black and white.

"You look like your mom." He said, before grabbing the chair and using it as a stool to reach the low lying roof struts.

"Really?" Valkyrie replied in a shocked tone, "I was always told I looked more like my dad. I never saw it though, I mean, he looks nothing like me!" She twitched when she finished the sentence, like a horse swatting a fly with its tail, something she had said obviously bothered her.

Hiccup nodded in agreement as he started measuring the nearest strut. They were all the same size, so he didn't need to measure all of them. He unrolled the string along the width and length of the strut, taking down the measurements on a notepad in between. When he was done he stepped down from the chair, prosthesis first. Valkyrie offered him her arm for support while she continued to talk about her father.

"He doesn't even look like a Viking in this picture!" she continued, as though all Vikings looked the same, which, to some degree they did.

"Ya," Hiccup agreed, "I don't know very many Vikings that shave. Most prefer to grow their beards, like my dad, his is huge! But there are always exceptions. Snotlout's dad Spitelout shaves, not every day, but most days. Anyway, I'm done in here, now I need to measure the outside of the roof."

Valkyrie laughed when Hiccup mentioned his dad's beard but didn't smile. Then she took one last wistful glance at the sketch in her hand before tacking it back to the wall, before helping Hiccup outside to measure the outer portion of the roof.

Outside Toothless was waiting by the window of the hut, where he had been watching the two of them. Hiccup walked over to his dragon and gave him a pat on the head."Hey bud, you think you can give me a lift on to the roof?"

Toothless didn't answer, he just crouched down so Hiccup could climb on. Hiccup understood, and clambered on, and from there climbed onto the roof. There Hiccup continued his measurements, while Valkyrie sat on the nearest pile of logs and watched.

"So..." he said, trying to break the silence, "I guess I get to ask you questions now, since I'm here fixing the roof."

"You don't have to." Valkyrie suggested hopefully, wishing he would change to topic of conversation.

"True, but I want to." Hiccup countered at the same time recording measurements in his notebook. "For example, I want to know why you live out here, in this old abandoned fishing hut?"

"I told you yesterday, I don't want to talk about it."

"You also agreed to answer my questions yesterday," Hiccup pointed out, "in exchange for the repairs."

Valkyrie sighed and hung her head. Reluctantly she answered, "If you must know, I was kicked out of my tribe and left to die on this miserable little island. I found this abandoned shack and figured it was better than freezing to death in the woods. Happy? Now you know." Valkyrie's eye twitched after this solemn statement, punctuating her stress about the subject at hand.

Hiccup was appalled. Sure, his dad had kicked him out of his tribe once, but that was a misunderstanding, and he was still allowed to live there, he just wasn't 'one of them'. He was never left to die on another island. Surely she must have committed some horrible crime to have deserved such punishment.

"Why?" he asked quietly, curiosity getting the better of him.

Tears started rolling down her cheeks as Valkyrie remembered the reason she was living the life of a hermit. Her voice cracked as she struggle to answer one of the questions she'd been dreading, "because I was a lousy Viking."

Now it was Hiccup's turn to hang his head. That was why his father had kicked him out. If there was anything Hiccup knew really well, it was being punished for being a less than perfect Viking.

"I know how you feel," he told her, "my dad kicked me out of the tribe once. He took it back later, but I'll never forget that feeling."

"No, you never do." Valkyrie agreed under her breath.

An uncomfortable silence entered the clearing and enveloped Hiccup and Valkyrie in an invisible cloud. Neither moved, nor spoke for some time, they just sat with their heads hung waiting for the other to speak, to change the topic. Toothless watched the tears travel down Valkyrie's face, then looked up to Hiccup on the roof. Hiccup wasn't crying, in fact he seemed to have recovered from the veil of quiet and returned to work measuring the hut.

When Hiccup was done he climbed done from the roof with some help from Toothless and together they joined Valkyrie to comfort her. Toothless curled around her one side and gave her a puppy-dog-eyed look in an attempt to cheer her up. Hiccup sat on her other side, and patted her on the back.

"I know what you're doing." he told her, "You're blaming yourself aren't you?"

"Of course! I should have been better!" she sobbed, "It's my fault, all of it!"

Hiccup rubbed her shoulder in a soft, circular motion. "No it's not. They chose to kick you out. It's your tribe's fault for not understanding. Not everyone can be a great Viking."

Valkyrie's slim frame stopped shaking, and from what Hiccup could tell, she'd stopped crying. Slowly she looked up, meeting his eyes. "Why did they let you back into your tribe?"

"I showed the tribe I was right about dragons," he explained, "but it didn't hurt that I saved everyone's life in the process."

Any hope Valkyrie had quickly vanished and her face was once again flooded with tears. Hiccup immediately tried to fix what he had said, scrambling to find the words that would make Valkyrie feel better again.

"You don't have to save them from something to show them you are a good Viking. Just go back, I'm sure your parents miss you. They'll let you back in, I'm sure of it."

Valkyrie laughed a small, almost manic laugh, as though what Hiccup had suggested was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard. "I've been gone for thirteen years remember. They've moved on." She reminded him, before returning to silence.

Hiccup recognised a losing battle when he saw one, so rather than push the topic, he decided to change it.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, "I brought some fish with me today."

Valkyrie nodded and smiled briefly. "Trying to fatten me up, are we Hiccup?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes, but inside he was glad to have removed the gloomy atmosphere that had lingered. "Oh ya, because you totally don't need any more food." He sarcastically replied while pulling out the fish from his bag. He tossed several to Toothless, but saved a few for Valkyrie and him.

Valkyrie grabbed a couple of the pieces of wood she had chopped earlier and began to prepare a fire to cook the fish. When the flames were big enough to cook the fish, they speared them and began roasting them over the fire. Toothless curled up nice and close to the fire, attracted to the heat like most dragons. There he slept while they spent the rest of the morning just chatting and eating by the fire. Hiccup learned that Valkyrie knew how to sew. He mother had taught her before she'd been abandoned, and she used her knowledge to repair her clothes until she absolutely needed new ones. He also learned that she knew how to hunt, and had an interest in reading, which was a strange hobby for a Viking. She twitched occasionally, usually when talking about her past. Loud, unidentified noises like a twig snapping caused her to jump up in fright and grab her knife in a reaction that was not normal at all. The solitary forrest life was taking a toll on her sanity, it was clear to Hiccup, not so much to her.

She didn't ask much about him while they conversed, but Hiccup didn't mind. He figured it was because she was busy eating and answering his questions.

As the sun passed through the middle of the sky and morning turned into afternoon they finished eating and moved on to chopping wood to fit the measurements Hiccup took. The afternoon continued like this, chatting and splitting wood, until it was time for Hiccup to leave.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Valkyrie half asked, half announced, confirming the continuation of the repairs.

"Yup. And I'll bring more food!" he replied cheerfully while lifting his bag back onto Toothless for the second time that day. I was much lighter without all the fish.

"I look forward to it! See ya!" She waved as Hiccup and Toothless left, flying back towards town to do more work.

"Bye!" He waved back, and then he and Toothless departed, leaving Valkyrie alone again. Within seconds she was back to the depressed state she had been in earlier that day. She curled up next to the fire and began to dwell again on the situation she was in and why. Left for dead for thirteen years, just because she wasn't very good at dragons. Now dragons were friends on the isle of Berk, yet she could go back now, not after all this time. Tears were building in her eyes when she heard a voice from the sky: "Smile! And stop blaming yourself!"

Valkyrie couldn't help but smile, even though she didn't want to. Sometimes Hiccup could be awkward, but other times his goofy smile and awkward demeanour made him perfect for cheering people up.

* * *

**A quick note on Valkyrie's dad shaving; Vikings had razors and they did shave, just not everyday and not all the time. As for Snotlout's dad Spitelout shaving, I just sort noticed in the movie he didn't have a beard, just some stubble, or a really bad 5o'clock shadow.**

**Well, I'm going to work on chapter 7 now. It should go up pretty quick, since I have no more pile of homework. O.O**


	7. Chapter 7: Explanations

**Hiccup and Valkyrie continue to bond in this chapter, along with some more questions about Valkyrie. I had fun writing this chapter, and I hope you have fun reading it! :)**

* * *

For the next few days Hiccup and Valkyrie bonded over the repairs. They told jokes, swapped stories, chatted about anything that came to mind, even played games sometimes. For Hiccup, it was good to finally make a friend that understood sarcasm, and liked to read. For Valkyrie, it was good to have a friend and not be alone all the time.

At the moment Hiccup was on the roof, balancing precariously on the new roof struts while he lay down the next layer of roof. Valkyrie would hand him each new piece, he would nail it in, and then they would repeat the process, all the while carrying on a conversation. Toothless watched, and helped Hiccup on and off the roof when he needed a hand, which was pretty much any time Hiccup needed to get on or off the roof.

"Next piece please. So what happened after they put out the fire?" Said Hiccup, extending his hand off the side of the roof for another piece of lumber.

"Here." Valkyrie grunted as she reached up to hand him the wood, she was just tall enough when she stretched to reach the top of the squat little hut. "They had their usual reaction, they told me I had to stay in the house during the dragon raids. 'For my safety', or at least that's what they said. I knew they meant to say 'for the village's safety.'" She was recounting the tale of when she was nine and accidentally caused half the village to burn down because she had accidentally led a dragon to the village.

Hiccup took the piece of wood and began nailing it to the nearest roof truss. "Thanks. Ya, my dad always had the same reaction. 'Stay inside son, it's for your own good.' Why don't they just say, 'your grounded?' We know that's what they mean."

"I don't know Hiccup, I don't speak parent." With that comment they both broke into peals of laughter. They laughed for several minutes before they recovered well enough to continue chatting.

"So, when do you think the roof will be done?" Valkyrie inquired as she resumed her place beside the fire. She didn't want to admit it, but she was worried that Hiccup would leave after the repairs were complete. She didn't have anything to offer him, and yet, he just kept coming back. She couldn't explain it.

"Oh I don't know." Hiccup guessed, "Maybe a few more days? It's coming together faster than I expected."

"Oh. Well, what then?"

Hiccup could tell Valkyrie was skirting around the topic that was bothering her; would he leave her alone again? He wouldn't do that to her, besides he still didn't know where he had seen her before, and until then he'd stick around. Actually, he realised, he'd stick around anyway, because she was the closest human friend he had, and the closest friend he had after Toothless.

"Well," he waved towards the walls beneath him, "the walls could probably use some repairs too."

Valkyrie grinned from ear to ear. "Really? I mean, of course, ya the walls could use some work too!" She smiled, and if she could reach him she would have given Hiccup a huge hug. She knew he was saying that to comfort her. She could read him like a book, following him for thirteen years made it easy.

"You know, this place is going to look as good as new when I'm done with it!" He added, with an assuring smile before returning to work on the roof.

"Good, because I don't want to go to sleep at night worrying about whether the place if going to come down on me or not."

"I don't blame you." Hiccup agreed, "I don't understand why you've stayed here so long, when you know Berk is so close."

Valkyrie stopped dead in her tracks. She turned to face Hiccup, gloved hands on her hips, eyes glaring. "What are you getting at Hiccup?"

Hiccup froze. Had he said something wrong? He could tell by her tone of voice that she didn't like something he'd said, but what exactly had he said that was so offensive? He proceeded cautiously, not wanting her to attack him like the day he found the hut.

"I was just wondering how come you never came to Berk, to stay. You're so close. Yet you choose to live way out here away from everyone and everything." His explanation came out slowly, each word carefully screened to not piss off the skeletal yet strong Viking standing several feet away.

Valkyrie gave Hiccup a meaningful look. Her voice was calm and level as she justified her reason for staying. "I can't stay in Berk. I'd be punished for stealing stuff. I try to avoid Berk and its occupants as much as possible for that very reason. The last thing I want is to be persecuted by another tribe."

Hiccup had to admit that that was a good reason to avoid Berk, but her response raised more questions in his mind. "If you avoid people from Berk, why did you help me the day we met in the woods, and why on earth did you ask for a ride to Berk?"

"Damn it." Valkyrie cursed, caught for the first time in something she couldn't explain away. She would have to tell the whole truth, not just part of it. "I needed supplies from town, that's why I asked for a ride, but as for why I helped you, that is way more complicated."

"I'm in no hurry."

His comment caused more cursing on Valkyrie's part. This would be hard to explain. She shouldn't have made contact with Hiccup that day, but unfortunately she couldn't take it back now. Her muscles tensed and her face twitched as she summoned to courage to explain herself. "Hiccup, there is no easy way to tell you this." she confessed, "I have been watching over you for some time. Since you were a baby I've been like your guardian, watching over you from afar."

Hiccup's eyes were suddenly the size of saucers as he stared in absolute disbelief. "What? You mean you were stalking me?"

"It's not like that at all Hiccup! I've been protecting you!" Valkyrie desperately flailed her arms as she tried to explain away following him for over a decade, "You know when you would hunt for trolls?"

"Ya..."

"Well I was always there, making sure a dragon, or a bear, or another wild animal didn't attack you. I was just trying to keep you safe."

Hiccup rolled his eyes, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he replied, "So you're a protective stalker? That's comforting to know."

"Would you rather I left you to be eaten by a dragon?"

She had a point, and Hiccup knew it. Despite that, she still hadn't answered his original question. "You still haven't explained why you made contact with me that day we met."

"I don't know what came over me," Valkyrie said, letting her body relax as she sat down next to the fire, "I was sick of hiding from you. You were always wandering around the forest, sometimes you even came really close to finding my shack here, but you never did. I guess I just wanted to finally meet you, rather than just watch you. It's lonely out here, and helping you was the closest thing I had to human contact, besides picking pockets at the market."

"You pick pockets too?"

"Yes, but that's not the point right now."

"Right," Hiccup mumbled, "well I guess I can kind of understand not having anyone to talk to. I don't exactly have a lot of friends beside Toothless here."

"It's worse for me, I don't have a tribe, a family, friends, money, nothing..." her voice trailed off as she stared up into the sky, daydreaming of better times.

One more thing still puzzled Hiccup. "Can I ask one last question?"

"Sure." Said Valkyrie, still watching the clouds as she spoke, "It's not like things aren't already a little awkward."

Hiccup frowned in confusion. "I don't understand why you started watching over me in the first place. You explained why you continued, I was always nearby and could use the help, and you explained why you revealed yourself, but you never explained why you watched over me to begin with."

Valkyrie broke from her light reverie and twitched violently. She cringed, like she had just eaten a bug, then asked, "Do I have to answer that?"

"Hiccup nodded. "I think it's only fair, don't you?"

She bit her lip. What the hell was she supposed to tell him? The truth? Not a chance in Hel. She would have to make something up this time, or at least not tell him everything. "Well, um, I saved you from a dragon I saw that was about to attack you. From that day on I started watching you because, um, you were always in trouble. Helping you was my human contact, like I mentioned. Besides, who were never far, it wasn't like I had to look for you, you were always out here, looking for trolls, looking for dragons you'd thought you'd shot down, ectera. It was an accidental encounter the first time."

"Okay. I think I can live with that answer."

Valkyrie sighed a huge sigh of relief. He'd believed her. Thank Gods for that!

"Your explanation also explains where I thought I'd seen you before." Hiccup continued, "I probably saw you in the woods and thought you were someone from my village!"

Valkyrie nearly choked on the very air she'd been breathing. He recognised her when they met? Oh gods, this was bad, very, very bad. All he had to do is remember who she was and she would be dead, courtesy of his father. "You recognised me?" she questioned quietly.

He nodded again. "Ya," he confirmed, "When we met you looked familiar. Your eyes, I'd swear I've seen them before..."

'Time for some damage control.' Thought Valkyrie, I need to make him stop thinking about where he's seen me before. "It's possible," she lied, "maybe you caught a glimpse of me saving your life one time or another. I tried to be covert, but you never know."

Hiccup shrugged in agreement, seeming to accept her explanation. Crisis averted, for now. He returned to his work on the roof, finishing the second layer in silence. Valkyrie watched in stationary distress. Had she freaked out Hiccup enough to make him leave? Would he continue to visit? She was more worried now than she had been earlier that day.

"Hiccup? She whispered feebly, wanting desperately for him to say something, anything, to let her know what he was thinking.

"Yes?" he said while he continued nailing down the last piece of that part of the roof.

"Can you forgive me?"

Hiccup finished the portion of roof he'd been working on and crawled to the edge of the roof. With Toothless' aid, he stepped down and then Toothless walked him over to the fire. "I'd be a horrible jerk if I didn't." He said as he sat down beside her. "Just promise me you'll stop following me, that kinda creeped me out."

Valkyrie laughed and tossed another log in the fire. "Of course!" she said, "I don't want to freak out my new friend any more today."

Toothless whined and looked at Hiccup, then Valkyrie. Hiccup smiled, and turned to Valkyrie. "You're forgetting someone." He told her, gesturing toward his dragon. Toothless made doe eyes at Valkyrie, looking absolutely adorable in the process.

She reached over to give Toothless a rub behind the ear. "Don't worry pal, I didn't forget you. How could I forget a cute face like that?"

"So..." Hiccup started, turning back to Valkyrie, "I believe you mentioned picking pockets?"

Valkyrie rolled her eyes. "You're kidding right? You already knew I wasn't exactly a 'good girl'. I steal from the village and it's occupants to survive!"

"I'm not judging you," Hiccup said with a grin, "just trying to tease you, lightening the atmosphere a little."

"Oh." Valkyrie blushed, embarrassed for thinking she needed to be defensive. She needed to relax and stop being so edgy. That would be happening any time soon however, as her paranoia was a part of her personality.

Hiccup didn't notice the light pink tinge on her cheeks, he was too busy rifling through his bag. "I think I'm done working on the roof for today." He informed his friend, "I need a break before I go back into town for my shift at the shop."

"Does that mean it's time for lunch?"

Toothless jumped at the thought of food and nudged Hiccup, whining and pleading for food. Valkyrie just gave Hiccup a hopeful look.

"Are you two always hungry?" Hiccup asked incredulously, watching the girl and dragon on either side of him beg for food with their eyes.

"Yup." Valkyrie smiled, and gave Toothless a scratch on the chin, before returning to staring at Hiccup waiting for his answer.

"Ok, fine, it's lunchtime!" he said with a hint of a smile as he pulled several salmon out of his bag.

Toothless and Valkyrie exchanged gleeful looks and then tackled the boy sitting between them. They hugged him, or in Toothless' case tried to hug him. From the bottom of the pile Hiccup tried his hardest to get them off, pushing and yelling at them, "It's just salmon guys! Get off!" When they finally let go Hiccup looked like he'd just survived a stampede.

"Thank you," he sarcastically reprimanded them, "for crushing and nearly suffocating me."

"Don't thank us," Valkyrie retorted with an amused look, "it was a pleasure. Now, let's eat!" She tossed a couple more chunks of wood on the fire and handed Hiccup a stick to cook his fish.

Hiccup handed her a fish and gave Toothless a couple salmon as well. Toothless ate while their fish cooked. Watching Toothless eat jogged Hiccup's memory, causing him to remember something funny.

"Hey Valkyrie, did I ever tell you how me and Toothless first bonded?"

Valkyrie shook her head. "No Hiccup, you didn't. You told me how you met, but not about how you became friends."

"Well, it's a funny story. I visited the clearing that morning with a fish to lure Toothless out and..."

* * *

**Lot of sarcasm in this chapter! I thought a good laugh would lighten the mood! Anyway the next chapter features Astrid. Just like in the movie she wants to know where Hiccup has been going. What will he say? You'll have to read to find out! :)**


	8. Chapter 8: Girls Need to Relax

**Hello everybody! I am extremely sorry it took me so long to post this chapter! Two months, wow! Anyway, I am very sorry for the delay. Exams, Christmas, and a major case of writer's block are all to blame. Also, I have some good news for Astrid fans! She's in this chapter! **

**Anyway, enough of my rambling and without further ado, chapter 8 of _Hindsight_.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

The morning sun was bright orange on the horizon as Hiccup scoured the marketplace from something to take to Valkyrie for lunch that day. He silently wondered if Valkyrie would like salted pork while he wafted in between the stalls and the people, realising that she'd probably eat anything he presented her. Toothless waited by the town dragon feeding trough, getting breakfast and playing with the other dragons while Hiccup searched for today's picnic meal. Hiccup eventually decided salted pork and cheese would be a satisfactory meal, plus some more milk to drink and some leftover salmon for Toothless. He loaded his meal into his basket-bag hybrid and strapped it onto Toothless. Ready to depart, he mounted his winged steed, only to be stopped by the sound of someone loudly screaming his name.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third! Where do you think you're going?"

He'd recognise that voice anywhere. Startled and slightly scared, Hiccup looked around wildly, searching desperately for the source of the clearly angry voice; Astrid Hofferson. His eye scanned the market place for her blonde locks, but it was too late, she'd found him.

She grabbed his shoulder and painfully wrenched him off of his dragon, knocking him to the ground in the process.

"Hi Astrid." His greeting sounded incredibly feeble as he tried not to aggravate her fury.

She did not greet him back, she just grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him back up to his feet. "Hiccup, are you avoiding me?" The question seemed odd, a hint of insecurity mixed with rage.

"No, of course not!" he said, defending himself. He still felt lucky to have Astrid as a girlfriend, but he had yet to grow accustomed to her sometimes violent attitude.

"Somebody else?"

"No! I'm not avoiding anyone!" He mentally wondered why she was asking all these questions, and why she was so angry with him.

"Well then where have you been going every day for the past couple weeks? I'm your girlfriend, shouldn't I see you more often than once every week or two?" She loosened her grip on his shirt and backed up a step, arms crossed in an impatient manner.

He instantly realised his mistake. Blowing off Astrid for work and visiting Valkyrie had never been intentional, but he should have known better. Hiccup answered hesitantly, choosing his words slowly and with purpose. "I have been helping a friend that's from another tribe. Their house is in bad shape, so I offered to help fix it."

Astrid eyed Hiccup with a hint of suspicion. "Have I met this friend?" she inquired, "What tribe are they from?"

Without thinking, Hiccup responded, trying to appease Astrid so he could get going. "No," he said, "you haven't met her. And I don't kno-"

"Her?"

Astrid's eyebrows arched, her face screaming at Hiccup 'you just said the wrong words'. Slowly, yet visibly her body language became hostile again and Hiccup could tell she was not the least bit happy.

"She's just a friend Astrid!" he explained, arms waving around as if they could help illustrate his point. "A friend, nothing more!"

"How am I supposed to believe you when I've never met her, and you are keeping her hidden in some other tribe?" Her voice has full of anger, tinted with jealousy.

The Viking boy in front of her rolled his eyes in desperation. Was Astrid seriously worried that _he _would cheat on _her_? That was ridiculous. He still could barely wrap his head around the fact he was with her, why would he ruin everything by cheating?

"Astrid, I would never cheat on you, I'm lucky to have you." He calmly responded, hoping if he could get through to her that that was the truth.

"Hmmm..." Astrid was unconvinced.

"Look I don't know what else to say. I am helping a friend out. There is nothing wrong with that. I am sorry I haven't been spending any time with you. I'm new to this, remember? You are my first, and only, girlfriend." He gave her an earnest look, pleading for her to forgive him with his eyes. As he spoke he ever so gently unfolded her arms and took her hands in his, squeezing them assuringly.

"Fine then," she huffed, her blue eyes softening a little, "You're forgiven. But I want to know your friend's name! And what tribe she's from!"

Hiccup bit his lip nervously. He had promised Valkyrie he wouldn't tell anyone in the village about her. It was bad enough he had already told Astrid he was visiting her, but mentioning her by name would be worse. Unfortunately though, refusing to answer wouldn't exactly look good to Astrid. He didn't want to jeopardize his relationship with Astrid any further by lying either. Hopefully Valkyrie would understand if he told his girlfriend who he was visiting.

"Her name is Valkyrie," he confessed, "and I'm not sure what tribe she's from, she's never told me. I just know she's not from here."

"Valkyrie? I've never heard of anyone named Valkyrie." Astrid seemed sceptical again.

Hiccup sighed. Were all women this suspicious of their boyfriends? "Well maybe I can introduce you sometime, let you girls get to know each other?" He was hopeful that someday Valkyrie would agree meet his friends, but he knew that day wouldn't be anytime soon. Right now he just wanted to get Astrid off his back and get flying.

Astrid smiled, "I would like that. Then I can let her know you're all mine."

Hiccup blushed, perfectly happy with that plan too. "Anyway..." he continued, while climbing back onto Toothless, "I really should get going. I promise tomorrow I'll spend the day with you, okay? The whole day, no blacksmithing either."

Astrid reached up and hugged him as he spoke. "Okay. But first, this," she punched him in the shoulder forcefully, "-is for not telling me about your friend. And this," gently, she reached up and kissed him on the lips, "is for finally being honest."

When she was done Hiccup's grin was so large it barely fit on his face. With a serene look of absolute contentedness, he nudged he dragon to take off.

Toothless, who had been watching the whole conversation with a slightly amused expression on his face, obliged, and together the pair took air. Hiccup waved as his dragon headed for the horizon, "See you tomorrow Astrid! Bye!"

* * *

"Hey Hiccup, what took you so long?"

Valkyrie was waiting outside, sitting on a log beside the fire, doodling on the ground with a stick. She didn't even look up as Hiccup dismounted his dragon and approached her, she just continued her drawing.

Hiccup shrugged as he took a seat beside his friend. Toothless curled up behind them, watching Valkyrie sketch in the dirt. "Astrid wanted to know where I've been going every day. She ambushed me as I was leaving."

Valkyrie's eyes immediately shot up to glare at Hiccup. Her hands flew to her knife and every muscle in her body went rigid. "What did you tell her?" she asked roughly. She was well aware who Astrid was. Even if Hiccup hadn't told Valkyrie all about her, she knew her from watching the village.

"Relax," he told her as he grabbed the stick she had been using and continued her dirt etching, "I just said I just told her I was helping a friend."

"That's it?" Her voice was accusing, like she knew there was more to be said.

Hiccup cringed. He knew Valkyrie was not going to be happy with what he said next. Maybe if he explained first, he could avoid making her really upset? "Okay, look, Astrid is my girlfriend. She wanted to know where I was going. She thought I was avoiding her. I had to set her straight so I told her I was helping a friend, but she didn't believe me, so I told her your name." The words rushed out like air from a punctured balloon.

"You WHAT?" Valkyrie screamed, launching from the log knife in hand, "How is that supposed to make her believe you? You weren't supposed to tell anyone anything about me!" She paced back and forth in front of Hiccup as she yelled, gesturing wildly with her hands. The knife flashed as it waved about, worrying Hiccup that she would hurt herself, Toothless, or himself.

Slowly, and with a level voice he explained, "She wanted to know who I was seeing. Giving her your name made her feel better, it helped to show I wasn't lying." He shrugged, adding, "I don't know why, but it did."

Valkyrie continued her frantic back-and-forth motions, all the while maintaining a firm grip on the knife in her hand. She had heard Hiccup, but her panic was overriding his attempt at calming her down. "I am so dead now. Oh Gods. Oh Gods. I am going to need a new place to hide. I am so dead-" Her words came on bursts, in between gasping for air and choking down the beginning of panicked tears.

"Valkyrie, it's fine. Astrid won't tell anyone. She doesn't know where you live, she just knows your name. Relax." Hiccup's voice was calm, despite the fact that he was worried for Valkyrie's mental state.

"No Hiccup! It's not fine!" she screeched back, tears streaming down her cheeks as she completed her mental breakdown, " I'm supposed to be dead, remember? My village left me to die. I have to stay hidden if I don't want my old village to hunt me down!" She twitched a couple times at the thought of such things happening, her auburn hair flying through the air with each spastic movement of her head.

"Valkyrie!" he said, louder this time, "Astrid is not going to tell anyone!"

"How do you know that?" she stopped and cried, pointing accusingly with the knife with one hand and running her fingers through her hair with the other, "How do you know she isn't going to mention me to anyone?"

Hiccup gingerly pushed the hand with the knife down. Then he placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Do you trust me?"

Valkyrie sniffed, but didn't respond. He could tell her green eyes were red from crying, even though she wouldn't look at him.

"Do you trust me?" he repeated, lifting her chin so her eyes met his.

"Y-yes."

"Well I trust Astrid, okay?"

Slowly Valkyrie's muscles relaxed and she melted into Hiccup's arms. For a moment the clearing was peaceful while they shared a hug. Minutes passed as Valkyrie's breath returned to normal and her tears had finally stopped. Toothless meandered over and joined the embrace, purring like a cat as he did so.

Eventually Valkyrie pulled away a bit. "Hiccup," she asked timidly, "do you think we could take a break from the roof today?"

Hiccup smiled warmly and pulled her in for another hug. "Sure, whatever you want. I think you could use a day."

"You have no idea."

* * *

**This chapter brought to you by the word relax! Astrid and Valkyrie could certainly use a little of it, don't you think?**

**Anyway, on a more serious note I hope you all enjoyed that chapter! I found Astrid very hard to write! I'm more like Hiccup and his character comes to me naturally, but Astrid was a challenge. Maybe you guys could review and give me some tips for writing her character? I always appreciate help.**


	9. Chapter 9: Leak

**Chapter 9! Yay! I had no idea when I started writing this fic it would end up so long... I am planning the chapters as I go, and the end is in sight. I think you'll find this chapter refreshingly short. **

**Anyway, enough of my rambling! Read on! :)**

* * *

Astrid's mother was collecting the dry laundry on the line in the front yard when Astrid came storming down the hill, fuming. Observing that her child was clearly upset, Mrs. Hofferson intersected her daughter at the door.

"What's wrong darling?" she asked gently, blocking the door with her curvy Viking physique.

"It's nothing mom, really."

Mrs. Hofferson frowned. "Don't you lie to me young lady." she scolded, "I'm your mother, I can tell when you are lying."

Astrid hung her head, ashamed she had even tried lying to her mom. "Fine," she admitted, "I'll tell you inside."

Mrs. Hofferson let her daughter pass through the door, grabbing the basket of laundry at her side, before joining her inside. Astrid was sitting at the wooden kitchen table waiting for her mother before elaborating on the reason for her current foul mood. Before sitting down she went to the kitchen to fix a couple hot cups of cider to calm her daughter. Finally her mother pulled out the chair beside her, and placing the two cups on the table, gave Astrid an expectant look.

"Hiccup lied to me mom." Astrid explained while grabbing the one mug, "He's hiding something from me."

"Now why would you think that sweetie?" Mrs. Hofferson questioned, "Everyone in the village knows Hiccup loves you very much."

"For the last couple weeks I haven't really seen Hiccup that much." Answered Astrid, "I confronted him about that this morning, and he admitted he has been visiting another girl!"

Astrid's mother smiled, her emerald eyes twinkling as she did so. "Now Astrid, it's perfectly normal for Hiccup to have some other female friends! You don't need to get jealous!"

"I'm not jealous mom!" Astrid yelled flustered, "He wouldn't tell me what tribe she was from, and he gave me a fake name! He lied to me!"

Now Astrid's mother was seriously concerned. This sounded like more than just simple teen relationship issues. She patted her daughter on the arm to let her know she was listening, and leaned in close so she could listen better. "Tell me what he said sweetie. Maybe this is all just a big misunderstanding. After all, I just can't imagine a boy like Hiccup lying to you, for any reason."

Astrid fought to keep her voice level as she told her mother what Hiccup had told her. "He told me he was helping a friend, and that he didn't know what tribe she was from. What kind of friend doesn't know where their friend is from? I don't believe that at all. Also, I looked up his supposed friend's name in the village archives after he left, and nobody has had that name in this tribe or any other for over two decades, and the last person to have it is dead! I swear to the gods when he comes back I'm going to beat him!"

Mrs. Hofferson rubbed her daughter's back as she consoled her. "Astrid, the village archives aren't complete, you can't trust them to. A lot of the information in them was burnt up in the old dragon raids. What was the name sweetheart, maybe I can look into them for you?"

"He said her name was Valkyrie."

For a moment the pleasant jade green shimmer in Mrs. Hofferson's eyes dissipated. She hadn't heard that name in years. It couldn't possibly be a coincidence. Had she really survived out there all this time? She needed to find out, but more importantly, she didn't want Astrid to look into it. She didn't want her daughter to concern herself with this any further. Swiftly she stood up from the table and moved to the window, hiding her face in case any trace of recognition remained.

"You know, Astrid darling, that name is familiar." She said, trying to calm Astrid, "I think there is someone from the next island over with that name. I'll look into it. Don't you worry about Hiccup, I am sure he is just protecting his friend or something."

"But mom he-"

"No, Astrid," her mother interrupted, "I said don't worry about him. Now shouldn't you be down in the training arena practicing? A good Viking always needs to be at their best physically." She returned to the table, changing the topic, distracting her daughter momentarily from Hiccup's mysterious friend.

"Yes mom, I'll go practice." Astrid reluctantly got up from her seat and trudged toward the door, upset that her mother wasn't more on her side. She would talk to Hiccup about this, whether her mother wanted her to or not.

"That's my baby. You go show those boys what a real Viking looks like!"

With that parting remark, Astrid opened the door and left. Mrs. Hofferson breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want Astrid to know about Valkyrie, it would only bother her to learn the girl's troubled past. If it really was the Valkyrie she knew, then she was much too old for Hiccup anyway. No, Astrid had nothing to worry about if it was the Valkyrie she knew, though that was unlikely, since she was supposed to have been dead for the last thirteen years.

"It can't be her," she thought aloud as she finished her cider, "she couldn't have made it all these years alone in the woods. All the same, I wonder if it really is her..."

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**Ok, I think the next chapter will take a break from Astrid and her mom. I find them really diffecult to write, dispite the lovely advice some people gave me a t the end of the last chapter! BTW, thank you folks for the advice, it was muchly appreaciated! Anyway, I'm off, school work awaits. :(**

**Ciao!**


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